A Guy like You, a Revenge like This!
by TBD
Summary: Summary:  Lindsay and Danny are happy together in New York, but someone wants revenge.  Sequel to A Girl like You in a Place like This?
1. Striptease

**Summary:** Lindsay and Danny are happy together in New York, but someone wants revenge. Sequel to _A Girl like You in a Place like This?_

**Rating:** **T**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters; if I did I would have to write out my fantasies.

Huge Thanks once again to **SallyJetson** for the beta'ing.

A/N: This first chapter was inspired by a comment made by **PrettyEyes** during _A Girl like You. _Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Striptease:**

"Come on Danny. Get out here already." Lindsay addressed the closed door in front of her. She had been back in New York for four months and couldn't be happier. She was thrilled with having her old job back, being reunited with the team she had missed, being back in the city which seemed to fill her veins with its power more and more each day, and especially her heart pounding romance with one Danny Messer. It hadn't been easy for them to arrive at this point. It had taken some major convincing on his part, which included him transferring to the Vegas lab for a while, and then narrowly escaping her father's shot gun. For her part, she'd had to let go of what her family wanted for her. But they were finally finding happiness together; unfortunately at the moment one of them was happier than the other.

"I ain't doing this Montana. There ain't a chance in hell I'm coming out there, so just give it up already," the man behind her bathroom door responded.

"It's only fair, Cowboy. You've seen my moves and now I want to see yours."

"I can show you my moves, but I ain't wearing this get up of yours."

"No, I want the total package."

"Oh, I'll give you my whole package alright. Don't need the outfit to do that." Lindsay didn't need to see him to know the smirk on his face.

"What can I do to convince you to come out here?" she pleaded.

"Umm. Are you trying to bribe an officer of the law there, Montana? You know that's illegal right? I might need to use my handcuffs on you."

"Yes, I've been a bad bad girl," she replied in a completely flat tone as she rolled her eyes towards the ceiling.

"We'll deal with that later," he promised playfully. "By the way, I've technically never actually **seen** your moves. Flack dragged me out of there well before the grand finale, so really you still owe me a show."

"Well if you ever want a chance to see a show or me naked ever again, I suggest you get your ass out here," she replied, trying the anger approach to the situation.

"You know Montana, it ain't healthy to use sex as a bargaining chip in a relationship, and besides, I doubt you'd really be able to resist me for long." He added cockily.

"I think you've been watching too much Dr. Phil." Lindsay responded, though silently agreeing with his last statement.

Finally she decided that to get what she wanted, she'd have to draw on the last tool in her arsenal. "You chicken or something, Messer?"

A growl and sigh could be heard on the other side and she knew that his resistance was tumbling. "Alright Montana, you win, but you got to promise me no photos, no video, and no retelling of this ever again. And I mean EVER! Especially to Flack! And this is only going to happen once and that's it. You got that?"

"Absolutely. Now show me, Cowboy."

The door slowly opened to reveal its reluctant occupant.

"Now that's what I call a cowboy, Cowboy." Lindsay stated as she openly ogled her creation. Danny stood in front of her in a plaid cotton wrangler, a pair of chaps and a ruby red g-string. "Don't forget the hat," Lindsay added as she produce a black cowboy hat and placed it on his head. "Perfect!'

"Now what?"

"Now we need to decide on what music you're going to use. Do you want Kid Rock's _Cowboy_, or Big and Rich's _Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy_?"

"Give me Kid Rock. I'd rather stay away from anything country."

"And here I thought you liked your country girl, especially when she was riding you." Lindsay responded with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I do, but I think I'm more a Rock type of guy. Now can we hurry up so that I can get out of these clothes already?"

"Mmmm. My thoughts exactly." Lindsay responded as she brushed her finger down his chest on her way to the CD player. Soon the music started and she took her seat in front on him ready for her private show.

He slowly undid the snaps on his shirt, revealing his hard abs underneath, as he danced to the beat. He then turned his back to her and with a suggestive though slightly comical shoulder roll, let his shirt fall down his back before flinging it to the side, almost knocking down her table lamp. The chaps were next though he nearly fell over as he kicked them to the ground and they got caught around his ankles during his maneuvers. Finally only the g-string and hat remained, much to Lindsay's delight.

Suddenly two cell phones went off. They both groaned in frustration considering this was a rare night in which they were both off.

"Yeah, Mac I'll be there…."

"Sure Stella. I'm on my way…."

"Dead bodies in central park?" Danny inquired after he had gotten off the phone with Mac.

"Yep. Looks like all hands on deck." Lindsay responded.

"Too bad. I had other plans for your hands tonight," he replied as he made his way to gather his regular clothes. "At least I no longer have to be a cowboy."

"But you didn't finish so we'll have to continue this later." Lindsay responded as she clipped her badge onto her belt.

"Oh no Montana. You agreed that this was a one-time performance, s'not my fault we got called away. I did my turn, next times yours. I'll let you know when I've chosen your get up," he replied, ducking just in time to miss the stray cushion thrown his way.


	2. The Cat’s Meow

**A/N:** Thank you everyone who responded to my first chapter. Here's number two, Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately I am still working on getting the rights to the characters. When it happens you'll be the first to know.

Thanks to **SallyJetson** for the beta'ing :)

**Chapter 2: The Cat's Meow:**

"What we've got?" Danny asked as he and Lindsay joined their boss at the crime scene.

Looking in front of them they saw what they were sure used to resemble a body, but now lay in quarters, all at varying angles at the base of the tree.

"Lindsay, you, me and Stella will take this one. Start by taking pictures. Danny, you're with Hawkes over there," Mac ordered as he pointed 200 meters to his right where Danny could see lights already being set up.

"We got two bodies like this?" Danny asked the older man.

"No. That body is still intact and shows signs of bruising around the neck. We don't know yet if they're connected."

Danny and Lindsay shared one last look before he saw her switch to work mode. It always amazed him how she could put on the work mask so quickly. He knew it was both to help her focus on the task at hand, and to distance herself from the horrors they dealt with everyday. Heaven knew you couldn't let your heart be twisted by every case that came along the way.

As he approached his scene he saw Hawks already examining the body, and Flack talking to who he assumed was some sort of witness.

"What we got Doc?" Danny offered as way of greeting.

Sheldon dove right in with the particulars, "White Male, about mid thirties, eyes show signs of petechial hemorrhaging and there's bruising around the neck. Looks like he was strangled with some sort of heavy-duty rope. I've taken pictures of the body, but I haven't touched the perimeter."

"Well let's see if I can find anything. Hopefully the killer didn't take the rope with them."

Danny had just started pacing the area surrounding the body when Flack came over.

"Look who finally decided to show up. What could you and Lindsay have been doing to keep you detained I wonder?" Flack inquired with raised eyebrow.

"Let's just say there was stripping involved." Danny replied never taking his eyes from his task.

"Hmm, I remember another time there was stripping involved." Flack replied as his eyes glazed over for a second.

"Yo, man, don't go thinking about my girlfriend like that or else we'll be having another homicide to deal with tonight."

"Relax Messer, Lindsay's fine but she ain't the co-worker I'm interested in," Flack replied as his eyes wondered ever so slightly towards the other scene.

A small chuckle escaped before Danny replied, "You're cute and all Flack, but I'm taken. Maybe you'd have better luck with the Doc." Both sets of eyes moved to glance at the man in question as he paused briefly in his work, now becoming part of the conversation he had learned to tune out.

"Sorry to disappoint but someone else has already gotten my attention."

"Oh really. Anyone we know?" Flack inquired.

"Not unless you've recently had brain surgery." Sheldon informed as he got back to the task at hand.

"I wouldn't be so sure that he hasn't, I mean have you seen the ties he wears? Only someone who'd had a lobotomy would think they could pull that off." Danny replied.

Flack feigned being hurt, but before he could make an attempt at a comeback, he was interrupted by Danny's "Boom, baby," as he lifted a piece of rope from the ground. "I do believe this is what we were looking for, and I think I've got blood trace."

Hawkes gave a glance at the body before him, "It doesn't look like our victim's lost any, which means it must be…"

"…the killer's'." Danny finished.

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Danny and Hawks had finished up with their scene and were on their way back to the vehicles. Danny paused for a second to look over at the other scene, making out Lindsay's form in the distance. He debated whether he should find a reason to go over there, maybe telling Mac they were on their way, just so he could say goodbye.

"You coming there, Messer?" Hawkes inquired with a knowing smile.

"Ya, ya I'm coming," Danny replied as he turned to follow him out of the park.

Getting back to the vehicle that he and Lindsay had arrived in, they stashed their gear in the back, before coming round to the front. Danny opened the driver's door only to be stopped in his tracks.

"What the hell is that?" Getting out his flashlight he illuminated the object on his seat. It was what appeared to be a cat sleeping peacefully; the only give away that it wasn't what it seemed was from the blue ribbon tied around its neck that contained a dark stain at the throat. Using a pen to carefully lift the ribbon, Danny saw that neck had been slashed.

Coming behind Danny to have a look, Hawkes took in the scene. "Looks like you were right; we do have another homicide tonight."


	3. Messages

**A/N**: Thanks for all the support from my readers and reviewers. Here's the next part. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** fro the wonderful beta.

**Chapter 3: Messages:**

Danny sat in the lab examining the same pieces of evidence over and over again, hoping they would tell him something more. He took a break from his task as Hawkes walked in with a smile on his face. "So how did it go with our Mr. Michael Kennedy?" Danny asked, glad to have something else to focus on for a minute.

"Sang like a bird as soon as we told him about his blood on the rope, though there doesn't appear to be any connection to Mac's case. He said the vic kept asking to borrow money from him, but would never pay him back. Apparently he asked one too many times and Kennedy couldn't take it anymore and snapped," Hawkes paused before continuing. "I asked him about the cat and he says he doesn't know anything about it. I think he's telling the truth, Flack had him so afraid he would have given up his own mother. Any luck with the evidence?"

"No. I've looked at everything. No DNA, no fingerprints. The cat's domestic and from the looks of it was probably a stray. The cut was made with a small, unserrated blade, probably a pocketknife. The ribbon's double wired and the dye is composed of Blue #2, Blue #3 and Blue #5 as well as trace amounts of Red #3, but since there is no database for ribbons, we'll have to wait to find something to compare it to, and even then I don't now how conclusive it'll be." Danny replied with frustration.

He took off his glasses, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes. "What I keep coming back to is why? I mean I know people do a lot of weird stuff in this city, but what possible reason could someone have for doing this?"

"Maybe they were trying to leave some sort of message. But what kind of message and who was it meant for? If it wasn't to do with the vic, was it meant for one of us? I mean we were all there last night," Hawkes pondered.

"Yeah, but it was in the car **I** was driving. Means it was meant for **me**."

Hawkes hesitated slightly before adding the thought that had come to mind, "Or Lindsay. She did come in the car with you."

Danny looked down and neither one of them wanted to continue down that line of thought. Finally Danny broke the silence, "It's probably some sick practical joke and don't mean a thing," trying to lighten the mood.

"Weirder things have happened," Hawkes agreed.

"Still… could we keep this between us for now… especially from Lindsay? I don't want her worrying over nothing."

"Sure, but let me know if anything else happens, okay?"

"Sure thing Doc. Thanks man."

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Later that day, Danny returned to his office to find Lindsay standing with her back to him as she looked for a file. He sneakily wrapped his arms around her and started nuzzling her neck.

"Mmm. Flack you better cut that out before Danny catches us."

"Hey," Danny warned.

Lindsay turned in his arms. "I'm just kidding." Kiss. "I knew it was you from the scruff." Kiss. "It doesn't scratch when Don kisses me." She then proceeded to give him one last kiss before taking her file back to her desk.

"You know that's not funny." Danny stated as he finally turned from the spot in which she had left him to return to his own desk.

"It's a little funny," She responded as she continued to complete her paper work.

"Whatever. How's your case coming?"

"We have a few leads but I don't think I can do anymore for tonight," she responded as she placed her pen down on her desk and arched her back to get rid of the kinks, Danny admiring the view as she did so. "That reminds me, what are you doing tonight, say around 7?" she asked.

"Nothing that I know of. Why?"

"Do you want to go for dinner at that new Italian restaurant?"

"Sure sounds like a plan," he answered distractedly as he finished off his own paper work.

"Good 'cause Jason invited us," she replied as she gathered her things to leave for the night.

"'kay," he responded automatically as he continued with his work. A few seconds later what she had said finally sunk in. "What? Go back. Jason invited us? Like your ex-fiancé Jason?"

"Yeah, he's in town for a tradeshow and left a message saying he wanted to get together." She replied as she put on her coat. "Is there a problem?"

"Is there a problem? Is there a problem with **MY** girlfriend spending time with her ex-fiancé? Let me think about that. **Yes**, there is a BIG problem," he steamed. "And besides, did he actually invite **us,** or did he invite **you**?"

"He invited me and I told him you would be joining us," she replied, Danny noticing that she had taken her fighting stance. _Never a good sign_. "As for me spending time with him, he was my friend for 30 some odd years, and only my fiancé for four. If you got a problem with that, then just don't come." She responded through clenched teeth before stomping out the door.

"Shit," was all Danny could say as his head hit the desk.


	4. Reflections

**A/N:** So here is the next chapter a day early, since I start my new job tomorrow and my life will be a little crazy this week. If I don't respond to a review I'm really sorry. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** for the beta.

**Chapter 4: Reflections:**

Lindsay was in her apartment getting ready for her dinner with Jason. She kept grabbing things from her closet and then throwing them onto her bed in disgust. She knew that her dark mood had less to do with her wardrobe and more to do with her fight with Danny. She hated that he didn't understand that it was important to her to maintain some sort of contact with Jason. She understood him not being comfortable with the two of them being alone together, but that's why she had tried to include him, why she had told him everything and hadn't tried to keep it secret. _Though I did sort of spring it on him_.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, berating herself for how she had handled the situation, not just the dinner, but the whole relationship between her and Danny, and her and Jason. She knew she had made the right choice in the end, but that didn't exonerate her for how long it had taken her to realize it, nor how she had behaved along the way. She had tried her best to fix it, and Danny seemed to have forgiven her, though she supposed that that had more to do with the fact that she had decided to be with him than anything else. Now she wanted to fix it with Jason. She thought he had taken the news pretty well before she'd left Bozeman, but it frustrated her that she didn't know where they stood anymore. She was hoping that this dinner would go a long way to finding out and hopefully rebuilding some of their friendship.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by the apartment buzzer.

"Yes," she answered the intercom.

"Montana. It's me. Let me up." Just the simple act of hearing his voice through the static brought a smile to her face as she pushed him up and waited for his arrival.

It wasn't long before he knocked on her door, which she answered, offering him a small smile.

"Hey," he spoke first as he nervously stood in her doorway, unsure of where he stood with her.

"Hey," she returned as she moved to let him in, letting him know all was not lost.

They stood there in deathly silence, each trying to find the words, each trying to figure out the other. "I'm Sorry," "Sorry," they both responded at once, immediately easing the tension that had built in the room.

"What you sorry about Montana? I'm the one who over reacted."

"Yeah, but I didn't need to spring it on you like that, and I know this whole Jason thing is sort of awkward."

"No kidding. He sure ain't my favorite person," he replied with a grin.

"To be fair you don't even know him. You might get along if you gave it a try," she offered as she took a few steps towards him.

"Montana, I'm pretty sure I'll never be alright with the guy, but if it makes you happy, I'll try for one night," he replied as he closed the remaining space between them and took her into his arms.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me. I just … I need to make things right with him," she confided as she held onto him, taking comfort in his embrace.

"I know," he replied as he planted a kiss into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent, one that he could never place but never wanted to forget. "Besides, you know I can't resist Italian."

"Mmmm, neither can I," she responded before lifting her head to find his lips with her own.


	5. Food for Thought

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! I finally arrived at a weekend so have a bit more breathing room to post this. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** and her awesome beta'ing powers!

**Chapter 5: Food for Thought:**

"Do you have any idea how late we are?" Lindsay complained as she rushed them out of the cab.

"Hey, you can't blame all of this on me, you were there too you know. And besides, that was our first big fight since being officially together. No way in Hell was I missin' the make-up-sex," he replied as he followed her into the restaurant.

"Oh there he is. God I hope we didn't make him wait too long."

Danny grabbed her hand, leaving little doubt to anyone that they were together, as Lindsay led the way towards the man he had only met once before, but who he would dislike forever. The man in question was dressed smartly and one wouldn't have guessed he was some country hick. He even seemed to have changed his footwear, opting for black dress shoes instead of the usual cowboy boots. As they approached him, it was his eyes that caught Danny's attention. Even from so far away it was possible to make out the look directed at the woman in front of him. Danny couldn't interpret exactly what it meant, but he was sure he didn't like it.

He had to let her go once they got to the table, as Jason rose to take her in his arms and gave her a brief peck on the check. The friendly embraced lasted much too long for Danny's liking, but when it finally ended, he stepped forward offering Jason his hand.

"Danny Messer. We met briefly before."

"I remember," Jason replied simply as he began to shake hands, not flinching amid the bone-crushing grip.

They took their seats at the table; Lindsay across from Jason with Danny on her right.

"God I can't get over how good it is to see you Linny," Jason said as he continued to gaze at Lindsay, and Danny continued to glare at Jason.

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They ordered a bottle of wine, while Danny stuck with beer, tempted to switch to scotch but decided tonight wasn't the night for hard drinking. _Then again…_

Jason continued to relay passed adventures and misfortunes with Lindsay, ignoring Danny completely, leaving him with his thoughts and his beer. Lindsay tried to get Danny involved in the conversation but would soon become engrossed in remembrances with Jason. He knew that he should want her to be happy, but every time Jason caused her to laugh or shine that beautiful smile, he felt like a dagger was in his heart, one that he wanted to rip out and use to start whaling on Jason.

The service there was slow, except for the drinks, which seemed to flow freely. By the time their dinner arrived, Danny's head was clouded and he could tell Lindsay had started to reach her 'happy' stage. Looking back to the table he noticed Jason's hand was dangerously close to Lindsay's. They weren't actually holding hands but every so often his fingers would brush hers without her noticing.

Raged boiled through him. He cursed Jason through his blurry thoughts. Cursed him for coming here at all, for making Lindsay smile, for adding complication when his life had enough. Why did he have to deal with this on top of the whole creepy dead cat nonsense? With this thought, his head momentarily cleared and started to work at lightning speed. _It can't be a coincidence him being her and the creepiness starting._

Out of nowhere Danny interrupted the ongoing conversation "Jason, do you like cats?"

Two sets of eyes looked at him like they had just realized his presence and the fact that he had a second head. "Excuse me?" Jason replied bewildered.

"Do you like cats? You know little furry creatures, four legs and a tail, like milk. You a cat person?"

"Not really, but I suppose they have their purpose, especially on the ranch," Jason replied, humouring Danny's question before adding, "Actually, I guess you and they have a lot in common."

"Oh really, and how's that exactly?"

"You're both **only** good for catching vermin."

"Oh really, well I think Montana here might disagree with that," Danny countered as he gestured to Lindsay beside him.

"Montana? You call her Montana? That has got to be the stupidest nickname I have EVER heard," Jason taunted.

"Well she seems to like it." Danny replied confidently, but the combination of beer, temper and overall bad judgment, made him go one step further, "Actually she likes a lot of things I **do** to her."

Lindsay just looked at him, a mixture of hurt and furry colliding on her face. "And that Messer, wasn't one of them," she spoke softly, masking her rage. She then turned to Jason as she got out of her chair. "Thank you Jason. It was really good to see you and catch up on old times." She gave him a tired smile before storming from the restaurant.

Danny for his part sat in his seat, swirling the last contents of his beer around in his glass. He stared at his opponent, receiving only a satisfied smirk in return, tempting him to punch it from his face, but the still coherent part of him knew that it would only make things worse, knew that for now Jason was untouchable. He noticed that Lindsay had forgotten her purse and coat, and grabbed them before following her.

He found her outside hugging herself to stay warm and looking unsure of what to do next. He came up to her and offered her belongings as a peace offering. She took them and put on her coat, while he stared at the concrete, reverting to a little boy awaiting his punishment.

"What the hell was that back there? I know that tonight was hard on you but do you really call that TRYING? It looked more like a fucking pissing contest to me." By the end of her rant she had turned away from him and now they both stood still, disconnected and unmoving, a mere blip to the anonymous traffic flying before them.

"I … he… the way he was… the way you were…I just… I just couldn't." Danny acknowledged as he continued to stare in front of him, not daring to look upon her face again and see the damage he had caused.

He felt a hand on his cheek as she raised his face to look at hers. "Danny, you don't need to fight for me. I'm with YOU. I already choose YOU." She looked into his face to see if he understood, understood how much he meant to her, how even though she was angry, she didn't regret the decision she had made. "Now I'm going to go home, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He replied with a simple nod, and she gave him a lingering peck to the side of his mouth before filing into a cab. He watched her go, feeling the wretchedness of what the evening had brought but knowing that he hadn't messed it up beyond repair; that she hadn't left him; that she still wanted to be his …. _for now, at least_.


	6. Playtime Surprise

A/N: Thank you to everyone reading this fic. The strangeness continues in this chapter. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** for betaing as per usual :)

**Chapter 6: Playtime Surprise**

Danny arrived bright and early for his shift the next day. He knew that they wouldn't be put on a case together because she was still working the 'quarter' man, but he was hoping that he would have the chance to see Lindsay before shift started and they both became too busy with the job. He made it to their office but saw that she hadn't come in yet. He shed himself of his belongings and grabbed some of his paper work he really should have finished the night before, but was too distracted with thoughts of Lindsay. _Funny how then I was upset about a different fight than I am now. Well not that different, both were about __**him**_ Danny focused all his energy on that thought alone, but before he could get very far his pager went off signaling a message from Mac. _Guess my day's started already_.

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Lindsay hadn't slept well and she could already feel that the day would be long as she made her way into her office. In just the short while that they had been together, they hadn't spend that many nights apart unless one of them was on shift, and she'd gotten accustomed to his body beside hers. Now it seemed she couldn't get comfortable without it.

She noticed his things by his desk and a quick look at the clock told her she still had some time to see him before shift started. She assumed he would be in the break room getting coffee, but as she made her way there, she caught sight of him entering the elevator with Sheldon, kit in hand. With a sigh she returned to her desk and picked up her file, seeing him would have to wait.

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Danny had been having a shitty day. His new case was leading no where; he had lost the coin toss to Hawkes and so had to dumpster dive; he didn't find any evidence and now he still smelled like garbage, and to top it all off he still hadn't seen Lindsay. He really hoped that it didn't get much worse before it got better.

"Umm… Danny?" Adam called hesitantly following Danny down the hallway.

"What?" Danny barked as he stopped to let Adam catch up. He liked Adam, even with his kookiness, but right now he just wanted to have a shower and wash the crapiness away.

"Well, I wouldn't want to … to bother you but it's just that this came for you and I … I didn't know if you knew about it and it was taking up space in the lab and I didn't want someone to think it was evidence or to spill solvent on it because then it might be ruined but since I really don't know what it is, I don't know if it can get ruined by solvent being poured on it and.."

"Adam," Danny raised his hands in the air to interrupted Adam fast paced ramblings. "Just give me the package."

Adam quickly handed it over, but stayed to find out what it was. Danny examined the object noticing the lack of return address and not knowing who would have sent him something. "Where'd you get this?" he asked.

"It came with a bunch of the new lab supplies. I guess it somehow got caught with all that stuff which is funny because it really doesn't look like a solvent bottle or a box of pipette tips so how anyone could get confused…"

"Thanks Adam. I got it from here," Danny replied as he quickly made his way to the general layout lab, forgetting about his shower to take a closer look at his package. He donned some gloves before carefully cutting the end.

The first item to fall out was a small plastic head. "What the?" Examining the object more closely he could see that it was from some sort of action figure and that this particular one had blond hair and was wearing a policeman's hat.

"What you got there, Messer? Did you find something besides your new aroma from your dumpster experience this morning?" Hawkes inquired as he walked into the lab.

"No. I got a weird package from someone. Since it's sort of creepy, I'm assuming it's from our cat lover," Danny explained as he picked up the head to show Hawkes.

"I guess we now know who this guy's after. All it's missing is the glasses."

"Lucky me. Let's find out what else I've won." Danny carefully opened up the envelope to retrieve another object.

"Well I guess we found out what happened to the rest of him," Sheldon asserted, as both men stared at the body covered in black goo and white feathers. "So what did you do that he wants you tarred, feathered and decapitated?"

Danny paused for a moment, taking in the obvious chicken feathers surrounding the small body, "I think I took his girl."


	7. Pushing Buttons

**A/N:** So I was thinking of leaving this chapter until tomorrow but decide there was no time like the present. Thanks you to everyone who's reviewed and those who are just out there reading. It's always nice to hear what people think. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Special Thanks to **SallyJetson** for the beta thought all mistakes are my own.

**Chapter 7: Pushing Buttons**

He needed to find her, needed to tell, needed to warn her. As he rounded the corner, he bumped right into the object of his desire.

"Someone's sure in a hurry," she said from her position against his chest as she gripped his bicep to stabilize herself. "And smells like garbage," she added as she wrinkled her nose in that cute way he loved.

"Sorry. I was just coming to look for you. We have to talk." He didn't give her time to argue as he took her hand and led them to their office, closing the door behind them.

As soon as the door was closed, Lindsay wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"What was that for?"_ Not that I'm complain'._

"Because you're wonderful and I love you, and I just want to forget about last night and move on with us." _And you're irresistibly sexy in that green shirt._

"Sounds like a plan," he stated as he resumed kissing her.

"The flowers were beautiful by the way." Kiss. "How'd you know that blue irises and yellow daisies were my favorite?" Kiss.

They continued to kiss for a few moments before her comment registered in his brain. _Flowers? _"What flowers?"

"The ones you sent me?" she replied to which Danny simply responded with a blank stare and a small shake of the head. She stood back and gestured to the bouquet on her desk that was indeed made up of blue irises and yellow daisies and tied with a blue bow.

"Where did you get them?"

"They were delivered; they came in the box over there."

Danny picked up the box, noticing the Bernard's Florist logo on its lid.

"Who else would buy me flowers?" Lindsay wondered aloud.

"Probably the same person whose been sending me weird messages."

"What? How? Since when?" she asked full of concern.

"Since two nights ago. The first was a dead cat in my SUV, and the second…"

"Wait. CAT? Is that the reason behind the whole cat nonsense with Jason? You think **HE**'s involved?"

"Well he mysteriously shows up at the same time all this starts. What else am I suppose to think?" _Of course he's involved._

The increased volume in both of their voices had started to draw attention even through the closed door.

"I don't know. Maybe that there are how many millions of people in this city that might have a grudge against you?"

"But only one that wants you back."

Lindsay let out a groan of frustration. _God, not this again._ "Jason and I are over. We're friends and nothing more. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"You sure he knows that, because the way he was eyeing you up last night would suggest other wise." _If it hadn't I wouldn't have felt the need to shove the dinner roll down his throat all night._

"You don't know what you're talking about. Besides Jason just got in town two nights ago. I doubt he would have time to pull this off. But there must be some other reason you think it's him."

"Like I was saying, the second one came in the form of a decapitated police action figure."

"So…."

"So it was covered in feathers. Chicken feathers."

"And that connects Jason how?"

"Chicken feathers are from chickens; chickens live on farms; Jason's a farmer." He explained simply.

Lindsay let a small chuckle escape at his ridiculousness. "Oh of course. And since we know that the only natural habitat for chickens is Montana, and he's the only one in the city from there, it must be him. Let's go bring him in straight away," she responded sarcastically.

"God Danny. I know you hate the guy but he wouldn't do something like this and frankly there is nothing to connect him. You're just making the evidence agree with what you want to believe. Sometimes you just look too much at what you want to happen and not what actually is right in front of you."

"That's not what I'm doing. Trust me this guy is bad news." _Fuck, this isn't going well._

"Are you sure? It's not like you haven't done it before, trusted your gut over everything else, over everyone else." She stated, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What the HELL is that suppose to mean?" His emotions were rising to the surface and threatening to boil over.

Ignoring the danger signs Lindsay continued with her argument, staring him straight in the eye as she went for the kill shot. "Isn't that the reason you were taken off the promotion grid?"

Steam from his rage at her insinuation practically filled the room. "My bullet wasn't the one that killed that cop, and you weren't even here for that! You don't know what you're talking about," he roared, his whole body trembling with rage.

Danny opened the door to leave, knowing that he should cool down before responding, but instead he turned around as the betrayal of her words echoed in his ears. "Yeah, I've made mistakes, but don't go thinking you're Little Miss Perfect," he continued wanting to hurt her back, "At least I'm not the one who was a SLUT behind my fiancé's back."

SMACK. Danny could feel the burn from where Lindsay's palm connected with his cheek. She exited the room, leaving him alone in his anger. Seeing the vase of flowers on her desk, he lifted it up before hurling it towards the wall, the glass shattering into a million pieces, leaving a pool of water, glass and petals on the floor.

Staring at the mess he'd made, one part in particular caught his attention and he carefully lifted the blue ribbon that had once held the flowers together. It was double wired and the same blue as the one from the cat's neck. He pulled out his phone. "Flack, you interested in doing a little flower shopping?"


	8. A Fish by Any Other Name…

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter featuring my two favorite boys. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** for the wonderful beta'ing!

**Chapter 8: A Fish by Any Other Name…**

The bell rang softly as Danny and Flack walked into Bernard's Florist an hour later.

"I don't get the deal with flowers." Flack stated as they made their way through the jungle of flora. "I mean they're just flowers; they don't exactly do anything; you can't take them anywhere; they just … sit there," he concluded, gesturing at the offending objects.

"Yeah, but girls seem to like them." Danny replied as they made their way to the front of the shop. Ever since his latest fight with Lindsay he had felt drained and lost. Her words kept replaying in his mind and even he was starting to doubt his gut. His brain just kept thinking in circles over all of the events of the past two days. Had it really only been two days since all of this had started? Until the creepy cat, the biggest thing on his mind had been the latest case, or counting down the minutes until he could get some alone time with his Montana.

"I mean look at these things," Flack spoke, pulling Danny from his thoughts, "I just don't get what the big deal is. I mean I shell out…fuck … $75 bucks for these? They're just going to die in a week anyway. Why not just go for a goldfish; they'll die too but they actually move and I can go down to the local pet mart and get three for a buck."

"Well next time you mess up, go the goldfish route and let me know how it goes," Danny responded dryly as he searched for the shop assistant.

"Whoa Man. Just stop right there. The ladies love me, and I never mess up." Flack replied, confidently, brushing his nails against his chest. "Now you on the other hand might want to get yourself a frequent member card if what I heard about your screaming match earlier is any indication."

"How did you hear about that already?" Danny wondered, once again amazed at the speed of lab gossip, hoping it hadn't made it to the far recesses of the lab. He knew that if Mac found out how they had both behaved at work… well he didn't even want to go there.

"I have my sources."

"So Stella overheard and told you?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Danny was desperate to change the course of the conversation. It was bad enough that he couldn't stop thinking about it; he didn't need other people talking about it too. _Time to turn the tables._ "You done anything about that yet?"

"About what?" Flack's confusion evident.

"That coworker that you were talking about. If I were you I'd hurry up and make a move."

"Says the man who took how long to make his? Nah, not ready to go there yet, besides you and Monroe make interoffice dating seem like oh so much fun. How's the cheek?"

_How'd it get back on me? _"I'll live. I just need to prove to Lindsay that Jason's the one behind this." _That fucking asshole country prick._

Flack nodded, not really knowing how to respond, until the shop assistant, making her way from the back caught his attention. "Now there's something I would like to make a move on … and on and on." He stated, making sure to lower his voice as she approached.

"Hello, sorry about that. My name is Sylvia, how can I help you?" The petit redhead said perkily as she eyed both of the detectives before her.

"Well I always like something in red, maybe _**you**_ could help me out with that?" Flack inquired as he leaned on the counter towards her, a smile playing on his lips.

"Yeah, my boyfriend likes red too. But… if you're interested we have some lovely red roses in the back." She responded a little nervously as she self-consciously played with her necklace, drawing his attention to her tight v-necked shirt.

"I wasn't really talking about the flowers." He stated, drawing a touch of redness to her face. "What does your boyfriend do?" He asked as he moved a little closer.

"He works in construction. Why?" She asked with a coy smile, now clearly enjoying the attention.

"Just trying to figure out how big the guy might be who'll be coming after me for flirting with his girl," he stated, earning a giggle and a deeper blush from Sylvia.

Danny, having watched the exchange decided it was time to get his answers. "Actually, we need some information about some flowers sent today to a Detective Lindsay Monroe at the New York Crime lab. You think you could help us with that?"

"Um sure, just let me check the delivery logs." She replied as she called up the desired information on her computer. "She was sent a specialty bouquet of irises and daisies."

"That would be them. Any idea who sent them?"

"There was no name for the gift card, but the credit card belonged to a Jason Hamilton. Does that help?"

"Sure does." Danny responded with a smile on his face, all of his energy returning as his doubts vanished instantaneously. "Can we get a copy of that information?"

"Sure, I'll just go and print it out for you."

"Also, around that bouquet there was a blue ribbon. You use that for all your arrangements?"

"Well we have different colours for different bouquets. Is there some sort of problem?"

"No, but we'll need to confiscate any open rolls of the blue."

"Okay." Sylvia replied as she went in the back, leaving Danny and Flack to wait out front.

"Hamilton? Linds could have been Lindsay Hamilton?" Flack stated with a look of disgust, "That's just wrong."

"No kiddin'." _I think the M works for her. _

"Any name in particular you'd think would suit her better, there _**Messer**_?" Flack replied with a knowing smile.

Danny was saved from answering by the return of Sylvia with copies of the sale and the ribbon. "Anything else you need from me?" she asked.

Looking at Danny for confirmation, Flack ventured into his pocket for his card. "Nope, we're good. If you have any other information for us, or anything else for that matter, just give _**me**_ a call." And with that he handed over his card, his eyes never breaking contact with hers.

Having had enough, Danny inserted himself between Flack and Sylvia pushing him towards the exit, "C'mon man, we got work to do." Before reaching the door Flack turned to look behind him, flashing Sylvia one last enticing smile.


	9. For The Love of Thai

**A/N:**Thanks for all the great feedback on the last chapter. Sorry I've been kind of slow in responding back but here's the next chapter!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** for the beta !

**Chapter 9: For The Love of Thai**

She stared without seeing.

It had now taken her over twice as long as it probably should have to identify the fiber because she simply couldn't focus. She took a few calming breaths and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind. She looked at the sample again and compared it to the dozens of possible reference samples in front of her, narrowing it down each time.

"How's it going kiddo?" Stella asked, causing Lindsay to jump a few inches off her seat.

"God, you scared me Stell. Usually I hear you coming." Looking down at Stella's feet Lindsay noticed why she was surprised; in place of Stella normal high heels was a pair of dirty old sneakers.

"It's been a long shift, and those new Jimmy Choos were not happy, found these at the bottom of my locker," she explained in response to Lindsay's raised eyebrow. "How's the fiber going?"

"I think I have it narrowed down to three possibilities but I'll have to call the manufacturers tomorrow to confirm it."

"Okay, well you look beat. Go home and we'll get a fresh start tomorrow."

"Thanks Stell."

Lindsay began packing her evidence away but stopped when she noticed Danny through the glass windows. After she had given herself time to cool down, she had returned to their office to find her beautiful bouquet in pieces, flooded on the ground, and him gone. It may have been easy enough for her to clean up the physical mess of their argument, but the emotional impact was going to be another story.

"Is everything alright with you two?" Stella asked, noticing the stall in Lindsay's movements and the direction of her gaze.

"Not really."

"Is everything going to be alright?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

"Well I'm almost off the clock. Why don't we both skip out and grab a late dinner?"

"It's okay Stell, you don't have to do that. I'm a big girl, I don't need babysitting, and I don't want to be a burden. I'm just going to go home, have a bath and watch some TV."

"Nonsense. Believe it or not I actually enjoy your company and something tells me that you need to talk instead of over analyzing everything in that little head of yours. Besides there's this Thai place not far from here that I've been dying to try but haven't had anyone to go with."

Lindsay thought about it for a second, taking in the smile on her friend's face. "Maybe you're right, besides I don't think I've had much to eat since that PowerBar for breakfast."

"Good. I'll meet you at the elevators in 5." Stella stated as she turned to leave the lab.

"Okay. And Stell," Lindsay replied, stopping Stella's movements, "I'm sure that if you wanted, a certain blue eyed homicide detective would be more than happy to try any restaurant with you."

Stella's only response was a nervous laugh and a heavy blush that highlighted her high cheekbones.

"That's what I thought," Lindsay replied with a smile, glad to be able to turn the tables for once. "After we're done discussing my detective, we're starting in on yours."

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The food did not disappoint as both woman ladled heavy amounts of the delicious cuisine onto their plates.

"I think this restaurant's a keeper." Lindsay stated between mouthfuls.

"Mmm, definitely. But enough about the food, start talking kiddo. What was the Messer/Monroe Scream Fest about this afternoon?"

"Jason, my ex-fiancé, is in town and Danny's going all green eyed monster on me."

"And that led to all the yelling and slapping?" Stella asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well yes and no. He was accusing Jason of some stuff without any evidence or anything to back up his claim and I reacted a bit. I may have pushed a few of his buttons, which caused him to react back, and it just sort of escalated from there."

"That's the trouble with getting to know someone really well; they know your weak spots and where it hurts the most."

"No kidding. It's just he's just so fixated on Jason that he can't see anything else, and he's worried about Jason driving us apart, but really he's the one sticking this giant wedge between us."

"The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves." Stella quoted with wisdom beyond her years.

"Okay Showoff, who would that be by?"

"I don't know. I read it on the subway this morning." Stella replied causing both women to breakout into hysterics.

"And here I thought you were just really well read." Lindsay declared as she continued to laugh and smile, knowing that this was exactly what she needed.

"But seriously Linds, I've known Danny for almost 8 years now, and I've never seen him get so worked up about anyone. Normally if a girl caused any frustration or complication he would just cut her loose, but he's been different since you. Man, when you left he was a mess, it was like something inside had dimmed, he wasn't the same spark of energy and life that he was before. For almost a year he was like that, but you know when I saw it all change? When he got back from his first trip to Vegas and he asked for my help with Mac for the temporary transfer. Even just the hope of seeing you again in the short term reawakened his spirit, and since you've been back he's a whole new person. He doesn't look at other girls, he's trying to be better, at work and at life, and you should see the smile on his face when you walk into the room. He loves you, and I think you love him, and not everybody finds that. Make sure you don't let it go without a fight."

Lindsay simply stared into the eyes of her friend, thinking about everything that she and Danny had been through, and everything she wasn't ready to give up.

"Stell, would you just excuse me for a sec," she asked before making her way outside.

Breathing in the night air she drew out her cell, her thumb paused over the name on the screen, before finally pushing the call button. It was time to get back what they had.

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A/N: Stella's Jealousy quote is by William Penn


	10. Dead Ends

**A/N**: Thanks to everyone out there reading this. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Thanks goes to **SallyJetson** who continues to use her beta'ing skills for good instead of evil.

**Chapter 10: Dead Ends:**

Look… time… sip… look… time… sip…

That had been Danny's routine for the last 10 minutes, as he leaned against the hallway wall. He knew that Sheldon had the morning shift, while he and Lindsay had the later one, but he couldn't wait to find him to compare notes. He looked down the hallway once again before checking his watch, noting that it had only been 46 seconds since the last time he checked, and finally taking a sip of his coffee. Others would pass down the hallway noticing his stance, giving him peculiar looks or raised eyebrows, which he ignored or failed to realize, his eyes focused on the elevator doors.

He had analyzed his half of the evidence, but couldn't put it all together. It was times like these that he needed a sounding board, someone who could see what he was missing, who could connect seemingly unrelated pieces, and make sense of it all. Too bad the one person, who he wanted to talk with, was the one person he couldn't.

The elevator's 'bing' grabbed his attention. Looking up he saw his friend, but not the one he was looking for.

"Shit Messer, you look like Hell hungover. You been here all night?" Flack asked as he made his way over.

Danny nodded, "I wanted to get somewhere with this case and didn't see much point in going home," he replied simply. The truth was that home wasn't really home anymore. His bachelor apartment now contained chick flicks, couch throws, girls' clothes, and worst of all, tampons. The strange thing was that he didn't care, he really didn't. All of those things just reminded him of her, her scent, her mood, her being. He liked seeing her spare toothbrush next to his, hell part of him wished it wasn't just her _spare_, but right now he didn't need to be reminded, reminded that it was missing something, missing someone, that _he_ was missing someone. It was no longer home, just a remembrance of what he wanted and what he might be losing.

Sensing his friend's distress Flack simply nodded before deciding to probe a little deeper into the heart of the matter. "You heard from Linds at all?"

Looking down, Danny responded, "She called around nine last night… I let it go to voice mail." He didn't need to look up to know the look that was being sent his way. "I just… I need to find proof before I talk to her," he tried to explain, daring to look at his friend though only seeing a fixed stare that was even worse than he anticipated, and which played with the guilt in his gut. "I'll call her as soon as I check in with Hawkes to see if we've gotten anywhere, alright?"

"I didn't say anything."

"No, but you were thinking it. Must be takin' lessons from Stella, she's the only one that can look at me like that … well, her and my mother," Danny mumbled.

"You're free to do what you want, just remember what I said about the frequent member card," Flack stated as he made his way to down the hall, "Sounds like you could really use it."

As Flack's footsteps echoed away Danny turned his attention back to the elevators and a few minutes later saw Sheldon emerge from the throng. Before Danny had time to give any sort of greeting, Sheldon noted his presence, "I thought your shift wasn't until later?"

"Yeah, well I want to go over this evidence with you, see if we can get somewhere."

"Alright, alright," Sheldon replied with a smile, slightly amused at his friend's enthusiasm, but it turned to concern once he noted Danny's wardrobe held over from the day before. "Sure you don't want to change, or wash up before we get started?"

"No. Just want to figure out what's goin' on."

"Okay," he relented, knowing that nothing he could say would change Danny's mind. "I'll meet you in the lab once I put my stuff down."

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Five minutes later they were in the lab ready to go.

"So I analyzed the ribbon from Montana's bouquet as well as what I got from Bernard's Florist and compared it to the one around our dear departed feline," Danny stared, gesturing to the three blue ribbons on the table. "The dyes in the ribbon all match which means they're probably from the same dye lot. I also compared the cut edges; the shop's roll matched the bouquet, no big surprise there, but it didn't match the cat's."

"So that means that they're either from different rolls or there was a piece missing from the middle that we'd need to compare it to." Hawkes concluded.

"Exactly. Unfortunately the shop has sold six bouquets with this ribbon in the few days, two of them paid cash and there's no surveillance footage. I ran the four that paid with credit card but nothing unusual came up, so no real luck there. Not to mention the fact that we don't actually know when our creep's ribbon may have been obtained, so looks like a dead end."

"Well I finger printed the envelope from the package. Prints came back to you, Adam, and the downstairs receptionist. The rest of the prints were too smudged to make out and were probably from handlers at the post office." Hawkes explained.

"Great, another dead end. Tell me you got something more?"

"The feathers from our action hero, were indeed from Gallus gallus, aka chicken, but were also from several different breeds. I counted at least seven possible but I'm still working on identifying them."

"Okay. Sort of weird but doesn't actually tell us much. As for the tar, it isn't even tar, its bitumen, also known as asphalt." Danny reported his findings while pointing to the spectral composition. "Not actually sure that helps much since there's way too much asphalt in this city."

"Yeah, but asphalt on the streets is mixed with other components to make asphalt concrete in its hardened form. In order for it to stick to the figure, it would have to have to be soft and adhesive."

"Alright, so it would have to be the pure stuff, and something like that might be hard to get your hands on." Danny thought out loud.

"I'll try to find out who would have access. As for our last piece of the puzzle," Sheldon stated while holding up the partially cleaned action figure, "I would like to introduce you to Officer Buzzard, one of the members of the Everyday Heroes League that the country is trying to use to promote unity and citizenship. It is currently available at 182 stores in the city, and has sold a total of 4,682 figures in the past month. I'm getting them to fax over a copy of their sales records."

"But if they paid with cash…"

"…Then we'll have to give up or start watching the surveillance footage from all 182 stores, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not."

"No kiddin'," he agreed. "So all we've got are multiple breeds of chicken feathers and asphalt. Not a lot to go on." Danny summarized, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. The lack of sleep and evidence was starting to take their toll.

"And so far nothing really points at Jason. Besides the flowers, there isn't anything to connect him, and last I checked buying another guy's girl flowers wasn't against the law." Sheldon pointed out.

"No, aggravating, but not illegal."

"Why don't you head out? Your shift doesn't start for a few hours and it might be good to step away for a while. I'll keep working on our leads."

"Okay. I got something I should do anyway. Thanks Doc," and with that Danny finally left.


	11. Reconnecting

**A/N**: Meant to have this up yesterday but I guess that didn't happen. Thanks to everyone out there who is reading and especially to those who spend the time to let me know what they think. You're all awesome. Enjoy!

Thanks goes to **SallyJetson** for the beta'ing.

**Chapter 11: Reconnecting:**

No New Messages. No Missed Calls.

She closed her cell more forcefully than she had intended. She hated this! She hated that they were fighting, and that she had turned into one of those girls who waited by the phone.

She threw her cell back on the table and resumed her task of taking out her aggression on the grimy kitchen floor. Some days she couldn't believe how that boy could turn everything in her well ordered live upside down. Heaven knew that she loathed having things out of her control, so instead she tried to focus all her energy into something she could control. This morning it had been the cleanliness of her apartment. The living room had already been vacuumed and the bathroom scrubbed from top to bottom. Her plans were to finish the kitchen floor and then clean all of the windows before getting ready for work, maybe even taking the time to make a proper breakfast for once. She got back to her task, trying to forget that she was missing him and the fact that he hadn't called her back.

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Danny stepped out of the subway system; glad to breathe fresh air again instead of the stale recirculated lab air. He chuckled to himself thinking about what Montana would say to him calling New York air "fresh". Either way it put a spring in his step as he made his way to her apartment.

Passing a flower stand on the way, he bought her a single white daisy. It may not have been as fancy as Jason's bouquet, but he hoped it would bring a smile to her face. _And hey, a peace offering never hurt_.

He bounded up the steps of her building and soon found himself on her floor. He walked the long hallway to her door, practicing what he would say, how they would get back on track, and imagining her smile when they did. He couldn't believe the butterflies in his stomach as he raised his hand to knock on her door, tapping the wood lightly. The gentle knock echoed in the hallway and the silence that followed filled him with dread as he imagined a different scenario, one that wouldn't work out as well, where he would never see that smile again.

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KNOCK, KNOCK

She paused in her motions and went to look through the peephole. Seeing him caused her heart to race and she quickly checked out her appearance in the hall mirror. The image before her was worse than she expected; her hair was coming out of a sloppy ponytail, her sweats were all wet from water splashing and sweat, and her face looked flushed. She quickly fingered combed her hair, but this only resulted in creating more problems than solutions. Deciding that there was nothing she could do besides putting a paper bag over her head, and deciding that that would just be more embarrassing, she opened the door.

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The courage it took him to come left him as he stood frozen in front of her, all the thoughts, speeches and well laid plans evaporating into nothingness.

He took in her appearance; her in the sweats she only wore around the house, casual like only he saw her; her damp shirt sticking to her body, revealing all of her delicious curves; her face tinged with red, reminding him of how she looked when he made her moan beneath him…

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to stare?" Lindsay asked, breaking his concentration.

"Nope. That would be Rhonda Nelson after she caught me checking out her rack when I was thirteen. Had a shiner for a good week and a half." Danny replied, relieved that they could still joke around.

"Well are you going to come in or do you want me to fetch you a sleeping bag and pillow?" She teased.

Danny chuckled slightly, "No. I prefer the accommodation inside thanks." He moved past her into the apartment while she locked the door. "This is for you. Not as impressive as your last one, but..." he trailed off as he handed her the flower.

"It's beautiful. Thanks." She replied as she smelled the offering and walked further into her apartment, heading for the living room. The tension returning as they both stood in the room staring at each other and not knowing where to start. Finally Danny broke the silence, "Look Linds, I'm sorry about what I said. I was out of line."

"Not completely. We both know I didn't handle that whole situation well. I should never have slept with you, _twice,_ while I was engaged to someone else. It wasn't fair to anybody."

"Maybe not but that doesn't make you a slut. Trust me I have been with _**hundreds**_of slutty girls and you aren't anything like them."

"Thanks, for that." Lindsay replied sarcastically.

"No … that's … I mean …" Danny stumbled, realizing his mistake.

"It's okay. I know what you meant," she replied with a smile. "I was out of line too. I didn't need to bring up the whole subway shooting, it was a long time ago and you were doing what you thought was right at the time."

"Yeah, though it definitely wasn't my finest hour, and you're right, sometimes I trust my gut too much, but hey it's led me to some pretty incredible things," he said as he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his forehead against hers. "Without it do you think I would have had the nerve to fly half-way across the country for a girl who had already turned me down, _twice_?"

Had it been dark her smile could have lit up the room. "And has this girl ever told you how glad she is that you did?" Lindsay replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her body flush against his.

"I think I have an idea." He answered, capturing her lips with his own and quickly parting them to wage battle with her tongue. The pent up emotions and frustration of the past couple of days culminated in that kiss as he backed their bodies into the couch. Their hands soon tore at each other's clothing as they toppled over the side arm, desperate for any horizontal surface and landing safely on the cushions, never missing a beat in their actions as they passionately sought to reconnect.


	12. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

**A/N**Thanks to everyone out there (even you lurkers…yes I see you hiding behind that pole). Hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

As always, special thanks goes to **SallyJetson** for the beta.

**Chapter 12: Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang**

Her head lay on his chest as she carelessly drew circles on his skin with her fingertips, meanwhile one of his arms was wrapped around her waist while the other skimmed through her curls. This is how she liked it, how she wished she could stay forever, never moving, never breaking the serenity. Unfortunately the remote digging into her side made it so she wasn't sure how much longer she could cope in that position. Eventually comfort won and she rose up to remove the offending object from her side, throwing it on a chair.

"You alright there?" Danny voiced from his position still sprawled out on the couch.

"Am now." She replied as she settled back down, planting a kiss on his lips.

"We alright?" He asked caressing her cheek.

"Were you not here awhile ago?" she asked with an air of confusion. "Did I sleep with someone else, or maybe I just had a very erotic and satisfying dream?" she teased, running her finger slowly down his chest.

"So we're good. That's all I needed to know," he smiled down at her.

"Yes, we're good." She replied as she lay back down on his chest, placing random kisses on his skin.

"So satisfying, huh? How satisfying are we talking here?" he asked, his grin turning cocky.

"Mmm, extremely satisfying," she replied, placing one more kiss to his chest, ensuring that his grin would be a permanent fixture for at least a little while longer.

A few more moments passed as they lay there, away from the outside world, wrapped up in nothing but each other, but of course tranquility cannot always last.

"Do you still think Jason is behind the threats?" Lindsay asked, staring straight ahead instead of at his face.

Danny took a deep breath, knowing that he had to tread these waters carefully. "Well, he definitely sent you those flowers, but there's no evidence to connect him to anything else."

"What does your gut tell you?" she asked, raising her head to look him in the eye.

"It says that I don't trust the guy worth a damn, but he's probably not the one behind it."

"Any leads?"

"Not unless you count asphalt and chicken feathers." Lindsay looked at him puzzled, waiting for more, but all she got was "Don't ask."

"Ooookay. Well you'll figure it out; there's always more evidence, you just have to find it."

"Don't go turning into Mac on me now, the thought of sleeping with my boss is just plain creepy, though we would have an excuse for doing it on his desk…" A well place punch to the gut stopped that line of though. "Don't worry, you'll always be prettier," he patronized as he kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. "It's probably just someone's idea of a big joke, I mean I've been keeping my nose clean lately so what else could it be?"

"Well whoever it is knows your name, what you look like, and what car you drive." She pointed out, concern evident on her face.

Before he could respond his phone rang and he disentangled himself to search for his pants. Finding them on the floor he quickly unhooked his phone and answered on the third ring.

"Messer…okay…yep I can be there in 20… okay…bye."

He started to gather his clothes, answering "Mac" to Lindsay's unasked question. He finally spied his now two day old shirt behind the chair, noticing that it still smelled faintly of his dumpster experience the day before. "Do I have any other shirts here apart from the blue one you keep stealing?"

"Hey, it's comfortable and you know I look better in it than you."

"Only when you ain't wearing anything else." He replied gaining a laugh and a blush, while pulling on his pants and replacing his phone at his hip.

"I think there's a shirt in the closet, it's probably clean." She replied as she wrapped the couch throw around her body and began picking her own outfit off the floor,

A minute later he returned and starting doing up the button of his semi-clean shirt, stopping as Lindsay stepped forward to place her hands on his, her delicate fingers finishing up the job before continuing up to wrap around his neck. "Be extra careful okay? I've gotten kind of used to having you around." She asserted, the worry getting the best of her.

"Don't worry, you can't get rid of me that easy. You're my Montana and I'm afraid you're stuck with me." He stated holding her tightly to him and laying his forehead against hers once again, trying to extinguish her fears. "I need to get going."

"I know." She relented, giving him one last deep kiss before allowing him to break away and head out the door, watching as he flashed her one more smile before closing it behind him, leaving her alone with her worry.

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Danny got out of her building and headed towards the subway that would take him to the latest crime in the crazy city. As he walked his thoughts turned to Lindsay and how great it was that she was so worried about him; not because he wanted her to worry, but because he had been in very few relationships where the other person cared that much, usually because he didn't let them get that close and become that important. Yes, she had wormed her way into his heart and now he couldn't imagine it without her, sure that his heart had grown so much around her that it had become dependent, that if she were to leave, it would collapse on itself, and simply cease to function.

He pulled out his phone, and began sending her a text, not paying attention to anyone around him as he keyed in the message, that is until he felt a hard object jabbing into his spine and the all too familiar 'click' of the safety being released.


	13. Lost and Found

**A/N**: Thanks for the awesome review for the last chapter! Sorry about being evil, I just love a good cliff hanger. Here's the next one. Enjoy!

Betaing by the always fabulous **SallyJetson**.

**Chapter 13: Lost and Found**

Lindsay lazily got ready for her day, no longer caring that the windows were grimy and the floor wasn't pristine. She was happy that things had worked out and the lighthearted mood carried her on, but every now and then she couldn't help the bad feeling nagging at her gut.

Looking at the clock, she decided she had time to bake some chocolate chip muffins, and pulled out her ancient cookbook and muffin rack. Whenever she was happy she felt like baking, probably because she associated it with memories of cooking with her Nana when she was young; hopefully today it would also distract her from everything else.

She was in the middle of combining ingredients when her phone rang. She brushed the flour off her hands before picking up.

"Monroe."

"Lindsay. You haven't seen Danny recently have you?" Mac asked. Even though Mac's voice was calm, she could tell he felt something was wrong and this caused the nagging feeling in her gut to start yelling for attention.

"He left awhile ago to go to a scene. What's happened?" She replied, managing to stay calm and professional, keeping the screaming hysterical woman inside locked away.

"He never showed up at the scene and he's not answering his phone."

Her normally logical mind jumped to images of him in danger, massacred, bleeding in a ditch, being eaten alive by African hyenas. Instead of offering that explanation and having Mac point out the unlikelihood of a roaming hoard of African hyenas in New York City, she offered one far safer and more reasonable, "Maybe he's stuck in traffic and his cell is dead or can't get reception." As she said it, she wished it were true, but couldn't believe it.

"I'm going to activate the GPS in his phone, just to be safe."

"Okay. Let me know what you find."

"Well do. Bye Lindsay."

She hung up and got back to her baking, distractedly adding ingredients instead of her usual analytical approach, not focusing on her task and ending up with baking soda instead of baking powder, and a tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon, hopefully adding twice the chocolate chips would even everything out. She placed them in the oven, so all that was left to do was to wait, wait for the muffins, wait for the phone call, wait for everything to be all right.

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An hour later Lindsay arrived at the lab, still having heard nothing and fearing the worst. Entering the break room, she noticed Adam and Sheldon, each with their heads in a file with a huge pile in the middle of the table.

"Any news?" She asked as she approached them.

Hawkes looked up with tired eyes, "No. Flack's gone to the location of Danny's cell signal, meanwhile Adam and I are cross referencing anyone who's bought our action figure or flowers against Danny's old cases, see if we can find a connection. Don't worry Linds, we'll find him," he stated, his doctor bedside manner coming into effect as if he were trying to comfort a terminally ill patient.

"And I guess you haven't found anything yet?" She asked, sticking to facts and evidence, while offering her salty, overly dense muffins.

"No… not yet, but.. but we still got this huge stack and … and we can always go further back," Adam stated trying his best to be helpful and reminding Lindsay of a cute puppy dog begging for attention. She pulled out a chair and took the top most file, glad to have something to throw herself into.

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Twenty minutes and fourteen files later, Flack walked in and without a word emptied a bag on the table, scattering the contents across the open files.

"Found this in an alley under a dumpster, two blocks from your place Linds." Flack stated, gesturing to the cell phone, badge and wallet that covered the table, and opening the wallet so everyone could see Danny's picture staring back at them.

"So... so whoever's doing this, knows where I live?" Lindsay extrapolated nervously as she rose from her seat, trying to distance herself from the belongings which could only mean that Danny was in danger.

"That or they followed Danny there when he went to see you." Sheldon suggested.

Don noticed the shake in Lindsay's voice and that she hadn't registered Sheldon's comment as she stared at the tabletop, lost in her own world. This case was sure having its effect on the couple, hell it was having an effect on all of them, especially now that it had moved from threats to actions. He decided to delve straight into the rest of the case, knowing that they'd all feel better once they had something to work with. Focusing in on Hawkes he asked, "Have any luck anywhere else?"

"I was able to identify some of our feathers, but I didn't have much luck with some of the others. So far there are feathers from a North India Black Breasted Red Asil cock, a Brown-red American stag and a Black-breasted Red Irish cock." Sheldon summarized.

"All rooster feathers?" Flack asked.

"Ya, I noticed that too. Not sure what it means though."

"Only one reason to have roosters in this city and it ain't to rise and shine. I'd say we're looking at a cockfight. I'll check out known establishments around the city."

"Okay, while you're doing that the three of us will continue with the files. We'll let you know if we have any other leads."

"Umm, guys." Adam, who had been focused on observing their conversation oblivious to everything else, spoke up. "Where's Lindsay?"


	14. Truth and Accusations

**A/N:** Don't worry we'll find out about Danny's fate soon, but first we'll find out where Lindsay ran off to. Thanks for all the feedback. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** for the beta. All mistakes are mine and no one else's.

**Chapter 14: Truth and Accusations**

Her small fist pounded against the wood door, hard enough to bruise but not stopping until it opened. "Where the Hell is HE?" she asked as soon as it had moved from her path.

"Linny, what are you talking about?" Jason asked as he was hastily pushed aside, Lindsay forcing her way into the small hotel room.

"Where is He? What have **you** done?" She shouted, not taking the time to answer his question or for him to answer hers as she tore apart the room, throwing the contents of his suitcase on the ground, searching quickly, desperate for any sort of clue.

"Linny, Linny. Listen to me." Jason begged, distraught at the wild look in her eyes. He moved closer to her as she ripped the sheets and blankets from his bed, finally grabbing her by the wrist to still her movements.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She hissed, her words more venomous than a snake, as her palm connected with his face and he was shoved backward, releasing his grip.

"Okay, Okay." Jason said as he regained his balance, his palms in the air as a gesture of peace. "Why don't you calm down and tell me what happened," he asked soothingly.

"Danny. He's gone. You took him." Her anger momentarily leaving her as tears sprung to her eyes, tears she wouldn't let fall.

"What? What makes you think it was me?" He asked, confusion evident in his tone.

"It all started around the time you showed up, you hate Danny, you bought me flowers, that connects you to the first threat and… and you know where I live." While the first three points were said loudly and pointedly, the last one was quiet, almost causing her physical pain to reveal. "The first night you followed us from my apartment, you knew which SUV he was driving, and this morning you kidnapped him when he left my place," she explained, a battle between emotions and professionalism roaring inside her. "You're hurting him to punish me. It's my fault he's gone." She tried not to break down, tried to keep the emotions flooding her system at bay.

She raised her teary eyes to meet his, expecting to see him gloating, happy to see that his plan had worked, but instead all she saw was hurt and sadness.

"I… I can't believe you'd think I would do something like that." He stated quietly, looking her in the eye before turning away to sit on the remains of his bed, resting his face in his hands.

Not knowing what to believe she remained quiet, keeping him in her sights, not letting him break through her resolve.

"How can you believe that I'd ever want to hurt you?" He finally asked, not bothering to wait for an answer. "I admit that I behaved poorly when the three of us went for dinner, that's why I sent you the flowers to apologize. It's just seeing you with someone else for the first time, I … I don't know... I guess it just hurt more than I thought it would. All I want is for you to be happy, and seeing you walking into the restaurant, holding his hand, well I could tell that you were, I just… I just wished it was me," he revealed, chancing to look in her direction. "I know we're over, but I still care about you, part of me always will, but I also know that the city's been good for you, I saw it in Vegas and I saw it again that night, so trust me when I say that I would never do anything to stand in the way of that."

Looking at the man before her, he wasn't the vicious kidnapper her crazy mind had jumped to when she knocked down his door, but her friend: the boy who she had her first kiss with under the maple tree in the backyard, who had teased her time after time so that she'd finally conquered her fear of the Zipper at the county fair, and the friend with whom she'd shared a thousand other memories. She sat down beside him on the bed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry…I'm just…"

"You're scared and worried and needed something to grab on to. I know Linny, I know you better than you give me credit for," he stated, holding one of her hands in his own. "You'll find him. Don't lose faith."

Her cell phone rang, acting as an intruder to their silence, and she quickly reached down to answer it, noticing Flack on the caller ID.

"Did you find Danny?" she asked.

"No, but Sylvia from our flower shopped called. She's worried because she can't find her boyfriend."

"So? We don't have time for that right now Don. Change her over to deal with missing persons. What do we have on Danny?"

"Lindsay, Sylvia's boyfriend's name is Derrick Minhas."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"He's Rodney Minhas's brother, the cop Danny was accused of killing during the subway shooting."

"I'll be right there," she replied before hanging up. The pieces were finally starting to fall into place.


	15. And The Hits Keep Coming…

**A/N:** I meant to update this earlier but this last week was exhausting and then yesterday FF wouldn't let me.

Sorry about all of the cliffies lately, I have been officially informed that I am evil, and well, after this chapter… please don't kill me! On that note… Enjoy!

Thanks to my wonderful beta **SallyJetson** though al mistakes are mine.

**Chapter 15: And The Hits Keep Coming… **

God his head hurt like he'd had a couple of pitchers too many the night before. Opening his eyes slowly he was glad for the darkness in which he found himself. As he raised his head a little, a stabbing pain attacked his skull and he had to correct his analogy to having the local kids use his brain as a trampoline and then being run over by a semi for good measure.

Once the pain had subsided, he become more aware of his surroundings and realized a few things: he was sitting on the cold ground, his ass was asleep, there was something poking into his back, and he had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. He gently tried to get on his feet, but soon found that his arms were secured around a pipe at his back, which only allowed him to squat on the ground. Twisting his wrist against the bindings, he felt what he was sure was a cable tie and unless he found something sharp, fighting would just shred his flesh without releasing its hold.

Desperately trying to piece it all together he tried to remember what had happened.

He remembered walking away from Lindsay's, and then what he assumed was a gun poking into his back. The man…yes the voice was definitely male…telling him to stay silent if he knew what was good for him, and then pushing him into an alley. After that it was all a blank, but judging from the goose egg he was sure he was sporting on the back of his skull, the guy may not have shot him, but he had used his gun as a weapon. 

The sound of footsteps approaching and a light coming forward caught Danny's attention. The footsteps echoed down the stairs telling him that they were in a large, mostly empty room. The light illuminated a concrete floor, and from the way the light kept being blocked from his vision, he could tell that there were several pillars between them.

"Awake already?" Said the voice from earlier, the face still obscured behind the light.

"Sorry, but this ain't exactly five star accommodation."

"Swine like you doesn't deserve any better," he replied, putting down the light to move forward to give Danny a swift kick to the gut.

Recovering from his coughing fit and pain, Danny got his first real look at his captor now in the light. He was a 30 something guy, average height, average build, with brown hair. Truth be told there wasn't much noticeable about the guy, he could have been anyone Danny had passed on the street a thousand times, all except for the eyes, that looked haunted and crazed. Nothing in his appearance helped Danny figure out who the guy was or why he had been targeted and now restrained to a wall. "Do I get to know what I've supposedly done, or am I just here as a kicking bag?"

The man ignored him, as he continued to speak. "Did you enjoy my little gifts, _Detective_?" the last word was laced with contempt almost paining the man to say the title. "I figured they would get your attention. You should have heard the noise that feline made as it took its last breath, as the light of its eyes extinguished. I never thought of myself as a killer, but it needed to be done, and I would do it again."

The man crouched down in front of Danny, their faces only half a foot apart, eyes locked. "That lowly alley cat gave up its life for the likes of you, but what does it matter, one more gone, one more life paid in exchange for your? Why does a vile creature such as yourself get to live, while others more worthy continue to die?" He asked before resuming his standing position towering over Danny. "Don't worry, we'll correct it soon enough."

He then pulled a gun from his belt. He didn't point it at Danny but held it up for all to see. "You recognize this gun, _Detective_?"

"Should I?" Danny replied, annoyed at the grand spiel and still not knowing what was going on.

"It belonged to my brother, before he died. He was a great man." For the first time Danny so a spark in the man's eyes, a sign that there had to be more than just the demented kidnapper before him.

"I'm sure he was. I got a brother too you know. Well had a brother, he died too, not that long ago." Danny explained, trying to bond with his attacker and get to the human core beneath. "Were you two close?"

"I was always the disappointment, him the hero, but I could never feel jealous, he deserved everything he got, and I deserved what I was left with. The only thing he didn't deserve was dying at the hands of a good for nothing son of a bitch like you." What had started as a far off remembrance now had turned pointedly in Danny's direction along with the gun. "You shot him with your gun and now his is going to return the favor."

Before Danny could reply, the man facing him pulled the trigger, the walls echoing the blast.


	16. Fitting Pieces Together

**A/N**: Here's the next one, not many to go. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson** for the betaing :)

**Chapter 16: Fitting Pieces Together**

Mac, Stella, Flack, Hawkes and Lindsay were gathered around the conference table.

"Alright, we have to determine where Minhas would have taken Danny. Let's start with what we know," Mac suggested.

"Well Sheldon and I found a police scanner at his apartment so we think that's how he originally found Danny's car," Stella explained.

"That was a big scene so he would have assumed everyone would be called out, including Danny, and then he could have just waited to see which car Danny arrived in." Mac surmised. "What else?"

"Well, he had access to the ribbon used around the cat through his girlfriend's work," Hawkes remarked.

"Plus, didn't his girlfriend say that he worked in construction, so that may have given him access to the asphalt," Lindsay added, looking up from the file.

"I'm having Adam check in with his employer to see if that helps," Mac commented.

"As for the feathers," Flack joined the conversation, "I had a nice little chat with the girlfriend and apparently our boy likes to gamble, especially on the birdies. Probably picked up the feathers after a match."

"So the evidence seems to be pointing to him, but so far it is mostly circumstantial and we still don't know where he would have taken Danny." Mac replied, looking at his team and their somber faces.

"What I don't get is why now? His brother's death was years ago, so why is he going for revenge now?" Lindsay asked.

"I think I can answer that," Stella replied as she pulled out a piece of paper. "I also found this at his place." It was a newspaper article from 3 months ago about new innovations and techniques used at the crime lab, the majority of which highlighted the lab's new CSI exchange program, including a large photo of Danny.

"Brass was pushing me for some good PR, I told them to write the story about Danny," Mac explained. "Minhas probably didn't know what Danny looked like before then."

Quiet filled the table once again, everyone either tucked away in their own thoughts or sorting through all the paper, photos and notes in front of them, hoping to see something they'd missed.

A tap at the door brought them all to attention once again, this time to look at Adam as he hesitantly stood on the threshold, nervous at the ten eyes that all look up at him. "Umm…I contacted Minhas' employer. He... he said that he was a good hard worker and… and that his current project was road repair over the new subway station the city's adding. Hope that helps."

The five pairs of eyes all looked at one another again.

"In a city construction site?" Stella asked.

"Kind of poetic justice when you think about it," Flack responded.

"Don't go there Don," Lindsay replied quietly. "Last time it didn't end well."

"I'm sending SWAT out there right now. Flack, you ready to go?" Mac asked as both men stood up from the table along with Lindsay. Noticing her motioning to come with them, Mac confronted her, "Lindsay, you're not coming on this one."

"The hell I'm not."

"Excuse me?"

"The hell I'm not,_sir_"

Mac simply looked at her. He wasn't used to his team not following orders, especially Lindsay. When he learned that she and Danny had gotten together, he was hoping that some of her work ethic would have rubbed off on him, but apparently it had happened the other way around.

"Mac do you think you'd be able to stop Danny from coming if it was me in there?"

Mac didn't know whether or not he could argue with her logic, but one thing was for certain, they were wasting precious time.

"Alright but you are to stay on the side lines. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal. Now let's go," she asserted as she led the way out of the room.


	17. Shoot to Kill

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter, not much to go. Enjoy!

Thanks to **SallyJetson**for the beta

**Chapter 17: Shoot to Kill:**

Danny was glad that the guy's brother had obviously never taught him how to fire a gun. The gunshot had steered wide though Danny still had to turn quickly to avoid the shot, though only just. He had felt it pass by his hand, coming close enough to sear the skin. Luckily he thought that he also may have come close enough to damage some of the cable tie restraining him, and if he pulled hard enough he might get free.

The guy in front of him was still recovering from the kickback of the gun and the feeling of actually pulling the trigger. The crazed and haunted eyes now also contained a dazed look from the act of actually firing the shot. Danny hoped he could use this to his advantage, and buy a little time.

"What was your brother's name?"

The question seemed to throw the guy off more as he looked at the prisoner before him. "Rodney. Rodney Minhas."

And just like that it clicked into place. Minhas was definitely a name Danny wasn't going to forget.

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They had arrived on scene but there was no sign of the requested SWAT team.

"I just called in. Apparently there are a couple of major traffic jams so our SWAT's going to be late." Flack reported as he closed his phone.

"We can't just wait here for them. What if Danny's hurt?" Lindsay asked.

"I'm not going down there when I've only got three people and no eyes on the situation. We'll wait for back up." Mac stated firmly, not leaving room for further comment. He already had one of his team in danger; he wasn't going to add more.

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"I didn't kill him you know. I fired a shot at him because I thought he was trying to kill me, but it wasn't my shot that killed him," Danny explained, hoping for more time to rid himself of the restraint.

"Oh really? Who else would have killed my brother?" Derrick snarled.

"You're brother got greedy, got involved with the wrong people, and that's what got him killed."

"MY BROTHER WAS NOT DIRTY!" Derrick yelled, pointing the gun once again at Danny. "He was a good man, a good cop. Those were just rumors made up by the police to save your sorry ass and ruin my brother, ruin my entire family. Do you know how my mother cried after they said he was up to no good? How it ripped her heart out for people to whisper those things about her pride and joy?" Tears were now freely falling down his cheek. "You know she won't even look at me anymore, says I remind her of him, that it hurts too much. You not only took my brother away from me that day, but my entire family."

"I'm sorry man, I really am, but I didn't kill him," Danny tried to reason, but Derrick was way beyond that point and it only served to infuriate him further.

"LIAR," Derrick shouted as he came forward and again pulled the trigger, once, twice, three times.

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Lindsay heard the shots from below and didn't think twice about drawing her weapon and running into the subway station. Flack and Mac exchanged looks before Flack turned to follow her leaving Mac to wait for back up and order a bus.

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He wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that Derrick had tears in his eyes or just couldn't shoot worth a damn, but someone upstairs was looking out for him because all the bullets seemed to miss him by a hair. The encounter did, however, give him the adrenaline rush he needed to break free of his bonds and charge his attacker.

They both went down hard onto the dusty floor, but continued to wrestle for the gun. Danny knowing that there were only a few rounds left in the clip, tried to get control of it but when that didn't work he angled it to the side, away from his body, and pulled the trigger until no bullets remained; all that sounded was the faint 'click' of the empty barrel.

As soon as the noise of the gun died away Danny noticed several things all at once: Derrick stopping his struggling, knowing there was nothing left; footsteps running down the stairs and Flack emerging; and Lindsay standing at the foot of the stairs, two shots to the chest and then collapsing to the floor.


	18. Last Goodbyes

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who has continued to read my fic and especially to everyone who has taken the extra time to review. I hope you've enjoyed my first foray into case/suspense (even if it was too suspenseful at times). Here is the last chapter.

As always a HUGE thank you goes out to **SallyJetson** for the beta, though all mistakes are mine (I just couldn't help the tweaking).

**Chapter 18: Last Goodbyes**

He stood alone.

The cold air whirled around his body as he stood silent and still, looking at the marble in front of him, the letters still freshly etched, the only emblem of the individual lost before their time. Starring at the cold stone he wished he had said the words more in life that were now pointless in death. He came here often, more often then the others knew or than he let on. He never brought flowers or trinkets; the dead had no use for them. In truth he didn't know why he came, it didn't change the past, he doubted it would change the future, but somehow it made the present more real, more delicate, more important.

He lingered there a few moments more, just staring out in front of him, but soon moved to leave, the present wouldn't wait and life had other plans for him.

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He opened the door to her apartment; it still smelled like her, felt like her. He wondered how much longer that would be true, if the next tenants would feel the presence that radiated from every surface. It was hard to imagine that she would never step foot here again, and that after today neither would he.

He began to tape up the last few boxes that remained. It had been a month since the incident, and part of him had wanted to come straight away and deal with the repercussions, while other parts wanted to hold it off for as long as possible. Either way today was the day that he would have to finally say goodbye to his old life and start his new one. He grabbed the last boxes and made his way to the door; there would be no going back.

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His apartment smelled warm and spicy. He placed the boxes in his arms on the ground and walked into the kitchen, admiring the view before him; it was amazing how well she fit into his place, into his life, like she was always meant to be there.

"Something smells good." He commented as he moved to wrap his arms around her.

"Hope you like curry."

"Love it," he replied, kissing her neck and making her wonder if he was referring to her or the food.

"Did you get the rest of it?"

"Yep, though I have no idea how we're going to fit it all in. You have too much stuff."

"I have too much stuff? You're the one who has the bigger shoe collection, not to mention your huge toys. I'm sure if we got rid of the pool table we could get it all in," she teased.

"Hey, lay off the pool table. I got plans for it." He mumbled against her skin

"Okay, okay. What took you so long getting here anyway? I expected you over an hour ago."

"I stopped in to visit Louie on the way," he replied.

She knew that Louie was still a sensitive subject, a subject that had been brought back to the surface with Minhas. Losing their brothers had created a connection between Danny and Derrick, one that was entirely healthy and she knew he'd rather not have. She carefully changed the subject, "So we're really doing this, huh?" she asked turning around in his arms.

"Seems like it," he smiled holding her a little tighter. "No turning back now," his lips crashing onto hers, never tiring of the magnetic pull he always felt around her, thanking the world for giving her to him.

Even through the kiss his mind wondered to where it often had the last month, to the two important realizations that had come out of that day with Minhas. Firstly he knew that life was short, and that no matter what got in their way, whether it was exs or crazed gunman, she was where he wanted to be. He had asked her to move in with him at the first available chance, moving things to the next level, and causing him to say goodbye to his old way of life, hopefully permanently. The second was Danny's newfound and ever lasting love for the makers of Kevlar, without whom he was sure he would be saying a very different goodbye.


End file.
